Throwback Thursday: Historic Dead Heat in Atlanta
Larry Lawrence | July 14, 2022
Bobby Hill and Billy Huber raced to the only tie in AMA National History
In this week’s Throwback we go all the way back to August 8, 1948, and Lakewood Park in Atlanta, Georgia. In the AMA National that day Bobby Hill (No. 71) and Billy Huber (No. 7) made history by becoming the only riders ever to finish in a tie at an AMA National. So if you tally up all the nationals in the record books, the number of race winners is actually greater than the number of races!
“Being such a new expert rider, I didn’t know much about drafting,” Hill said. “Billy sure did though and he drafted right behind me and at the last possible moment zipped underneath me and we crossed the finish line side by side.”
The crowd went nuts as the two crossed the finish line. AMA officials quickly huddled to compare notes to try to determine who came out on top. Heads shook and finally the judges declared the race a dead heat. Mike Benson, president of the fair announced that both riders would receive first-place money. More cheers greeted the announcement.
“We both got the same money, but Billy got the trophy,” Hill recalls. “Back then there was a little prejudice [favoring] Harley riders and they gave it to him. Three or four months later they made up a duplicate trophy and gave it to me.
“That race pushed the AMA to get a better system to decide finishes. Up to then they just had a referee standing at the line to call the finish. I think they eventually got high-speed cameras. After that race I always looked under my arm a little bit coming out of the last turn.”
Motorcycle Hall of Famer Bobby Hill passed away earlier this week. He was 100.
You can read about his career here: AMA Motorcycle Museum Hall of Fame | Bobby Hill
